Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans Predictions, Picks and NBA Preview – February 25, 2016

The Oklahoma City Thunder completed a season sweep of the Dallas Mavericks with a comprehensive 13-point victory at American Airlines Center on Wednesday night. It was a huge bounce-back win for the Thunder who are fresh off a disappointing performance Sunday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Billy Donovan’s men will look to make it back-to-back wins when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans tonight. Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this Western Conference matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between Golden State and Orlando.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview

Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans

When: Thursday, February 25, 8:00 PM ET

Line: Oklahoma City Thunder (-6) at New Orleans Pelicans (+6); total: 220.0 – view all NBA lines

TV Broadcast: TNT/FSOK

Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-16)

The Oklahoma City Thunder finally snapped their two-game losing streak with a resounding 116-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led the way for the Thunder in this contest, scoring 24 points apiece.

Key to the Thunder’s victory on Wednesday was their much-improved performance on the offensive end. After averaging just 95 points in their previous two defeats, Oklahoma City exploded for 116 points against the Mavs on 48.3 percent shooting from the field. The Thunder unleashed a balanced offensive attack with six OKC players scoring in double-figures.

They will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when they square off with the New Orleans Pelicans tonight. The Thunder will fancy their chances of doing just that as they have fared extremely well against the Pelicans of late. Oklahoma City is unbeaten in two meetings with New Orleans this season, with the average winning margin standing at 16.5 points.

Westbrook and Durant starred for the Thunder in those two encounters, averaging 33.0 and 23.0 points respectively. They have once again carried the scoring load for Oklahoma City this campaign, with the dynamic duo averaging a combined 51.7 points for the Thunder this season.

The Thunder are 7-3 SU and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games.

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Betting on the New Orleans Pelicans (22-34)

The New Orleans Pelicans had their two-game unbeaten run snapped on Tuesday with a humiliating 109-89 loss to the Washington Wizards. The Pelicans had no answer for John Wall who recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. It was a disappointing defeat for the Pelicans who are now six games behind eighth-placed Utah in the Western Conference standings.

The Pelicans will look to get their season back on track when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. For New Orleans to pull off the victory tonight, it needs to get a much improved performance from Anthony Davis. He struggled mightily on the offensive end on Tuesday, scoring just nine points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field. The All-Star forward’s performance was a complete shock considering he had 59 points and 20 rebounds in New Orleans’ 111-106 victory against Detroit on Sunday.

Defense will also play a key part in New Orleans’ victory bid tonight. The Pelicans are sixth-worst in the league in field goal percentage defense with opponents shooting at a high 46.3 percent clip this season. In fact, they allowed the Thunder to shoot 52.3 percent from the field in their last meeting on February 12. Oklahoma City won that game easily, 121-95.

The Pelicans are 7-3 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last 10 home games.

Writer’s Prediction

Oklahoma City (-6) wins, 117-110.